Dagger Through A Dream
by zapid
Summary: Complete After Stephanie has an unnerving erotic dream about Chris Jericho, her reactions toward him and her opinion of him change, even though he still insults her. Will they come to terms with their feelings before it's too late?
1. Chapter One

Title: Dagger Through a Dream

Rating: Rated R for angst, language, and sexual content. no longer accepts NC-17 rated stories, so I toned it down, but it's an R, so if you don't like that, don't read it.

Author's Note: This fic is based around the idea that wrestling is not scripted. This isn't too important, though. The characters belong to the WWE; I'm just borrowing them for a while. I'm not making any money off of this, so no harm done. Please don't sue me. I hope you enjoy the story, and feel free to leave any comments you may have. Thanks!

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Her senses slightly blurred, Stephanie became aware of someone lying next to her, gently stroking her hair. Pausing for a moment to look at him, it slowly began to register in the back of her mind that it was Chris Jericho next to her. And somehow that seemed right. She looked into his eyes, and with one swift movement he was on top of her. Kissing her. What?

Her lips parted slightly as the feeling that somehow this was wrong was shoved underneath the rest of the clutter scattered around her mind. What was going on? Did she really even care?

Chris' hands moved toward her back and stroked her with a sense of protectiveness. His hands slid down lower, and Stephanie moaned into his mouth. God, it all felt so good, and yet so, so wrong... Who even cares?

Chris needed no more encouragement and pulled away from Stephanie just long enough to remove both of their shirts before immediately connecting again. Their connection burned strongly in her head, consuming her completely. There was no battle, no struggle for dominance, only pure, unrelenting bliss.

Stephanie removed her hands from the back of Chris' neck and slid them down his chiseled chest and pushed him into a lying position. Chris rolled her over so that he was on top of her as he unclasped her bra. He continued his erotic torture as Stephanie felt fire course through her entire being. Heaven. There could be nothing better.

After several minutes of the incredible torture Chris was putting her through, Stephanie pushed him off of her and practically scrambled to get the rest of both of their clothes off, Chris helping her all along the way.

Before Chris could take charge again, Stephanie decided to take control of the situation a bit. She then submitted Chris to the same bliss that Stephanie had been subjected to moments before.

"Steph..." he groaned.

She silenced him with her eyes and continued exploring, teasing, tasting. When several minutes had passed, Chris pushed Stephanie off of him before he came. He flipped her over on her back and positioned himself at her entrance, and he stayed there for a moment.

"You ready?"

"Yes...Chris, please..."

Stephanie shot out of her bed like a bat let out of hell. She was panting heavily, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Sweat covered her entire body, and she rubbed her eyes.

"What the hell?"

Then Stephanie remembered her dream.

"WHAT?!?!" she screeched.

She couldn't have, she wouldn't have...but she did. She had an erotic dream about CHRIS JERICHO. No, wait, scratch that. It was Chris Jericho, that would make it a nightmare. She quickly surveyed the room, just to appease her mind with the fact that she was definitely alone. Stephanie realized that she had a headache, and she rubbed her head in a hopeless attempt to relieve the pain.

"Why would I dream that?"

Stephanie couldn't figure it out, but she knew it couldn't POSSIBLY have anything to do with her inwardly wanting him or something. That notion was absolutely absurd. Besides, that would be too obvious, and dreams aren't ever supposed to be what they seem.

Yet, somehow, even with that in mind, Stephanie was still troubled. She had felt so...needed in her dream, not to mention the feeling of being safe running through her when she was wrapped in Chris' arms. She would have to think about this in the morning, when she had some more sleep. She would have time for a Freudian analysis then, but not now. She needed her sleep.

"If I had any sense, I just wouldn't think about it at all and forget about it," Stephanie thought to herself as she sunk into the soft bed. But, Stephanie knew that her normal common sense would escape her, and that she would indeed think about it.


	2. Chapter Two

Hello everybody! Remember this story? Well, hopefully. This story has a few...fundamental errors. For your information the time setting is now, but somehow everybody from both brands are in the same buildings. Everybody only performs on his/her own show, though. Once again, I may need to remind you that this is based around the idea that wrestling is real, not scripted, or whatever. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and enjoy the story!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rubbing her eyes groggily, Stephanie peeled herself off of her bed. She blinked several times, willing her tiredness to go away. With one deep breath, she stood up and walked into her bathroom to get a shower in before she had to go to work.   
  
Stephanie couldn't tell why she was so tired. For one of the first times in her life, she had actually allotted eight hours of sleeping time. The cold water hit her bare back mercilessly, snapping her out of her sleepy trance. For some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, she was peering out from behind the shower curtain often, as though she was sure that someone else was there. It was weird; it almost felt like she was being watched.   
  
A strange feeling had settled into the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't place the emotion. Stephanie shut the water off and wrapped a towel around herself. She stepped into her room, shivering. She slammed the door to the bathroom in what was almost a fit of fury. She liked to be in control of everything, including her emotions.   
  
Stephanie thought about what she would have to do that day as she carefully slipped into her outfit for the day: another business suit. She knew that she was going to have a long, long day. She had to fine-tune another contract. She grabbed her keys and flounced out the door. Time for another day.   
  
~*~  
  
Stephanie was definitely not having a good day. It was already lunchtime and she had made no progress whatsoever. She didn't really feel like eating anything, but she decided that if she didn't she might faint. Food is important.   
  
As soon as she stepped into the "lunch area" she just about turned right around. She found herself mere feet away from the one person she didn't want to see...Chris Jericho. Now that their "business partnership" had subsided, they were back to being bitter enemies. She would have rather run into Eric Bischoff. Fortunately, he hadn't seen her yet; Stephanie thought she could slip out unnoticed. She had no desire to argue with anyone, no matter how good at arguing she may be.   
  
Just as she was about to step out of the room, Chris turned around and looked her straight in the eyes. As soon as their eyes met, Stephanie felt a lightning bolt shoot through her stomach. In less than a second of time the dream came back to her. She burst out of the room in a panic attack. She leaned against a wall for support, breathing heavily. All of her thoughts about the contract had flown away, and she was focused on Jericho. Only Jericho. The way she felt in her dream, in his arms...   
  
Her eyes widened in shock, realizing what she had just done. Jericho had looked at her, and she had practically fled. To quote the ringside announcer, she had 'run like a scalded dog'. She took a deep breath and came to the conclusion that going back would be better than staying gone. She pulled her shoulders back, put her head up high, and forced an unreadable expression onto her face, covering her inner emotions.   
  
She could see Jericho's look of shock as she reentered the room. She chose to ignore it and haughtily threw some food onto her plate. Chris leaned over and muttered something to the rookie wrestler next to him, who smirked and began to snicker.   
  
"What happened?" he called out to her. "Realize you forgot to screw Steiner?"   
  
Her eyes widened in shock and she quickly turned to face him. She appeared to be about to throw out retort, but she just sat down at a table. "I don't have time to deal with you," she said.   
  
"Can't think of a reply?"   
  
She didn't justify his mocking question with an answer, merely shooting him a look of pure hatred. She forced her eyes to her food instead of his eyes, which were doing things to her she didn't wish them to do, or even admit they were doing. She focused on eating her lunch and getting out of there.   
  
Chris wasn't about to let her get off the hook that easily. He turned back to his companion and muttered a rude remark indeed. Stephanie's eyes flashed, but other than that she showed no reaction. Chris just kept on talking, his comments growing steadily louder and fouler. Stephanie finished up her meal within two minutes and stood up to leave.   
  
"What's the hurry?" Chris asked her.   
  
"I have stuff to do," she replied.   
  
"Probably going to throw up everything you just shoveled in," he muttered under his breath, his purpose no higher than to completely piss Stephanie off.  
  
Stephanie had a nasty reply on the tip of her tongue, but decided that actions speak louder than words. She turned around, drew her hand back, and slapped him. Chris brought his hand up to his cheek, but didn't say anything.  
  
"Love you too, princess!" Chris called out as she was at the door.  
  
Stephanie froze for a moment before continuing out the door. When she finally reached her office she sat down, breathing in and out. Why had those words had that affect on her? He had been making fun of her. Why did he have to use those words? Why did he have to say 'love you too'? Even though Stephanie knew that Chris had only stated his blatant hatred of her in that manner to piss her off, she couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of underlying meaning. Stephanie shook this feeling off immediately. She had work to do. Besides, he was only making fun of her, nothing more, nothing less. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three   
  


The rest of Stephanie's day passed uneventfully and Jericho-free. 

"Thank God," she thought to herself. "I don't think I could withstand a run-in with him again. God, why am I letting that damn dream get to me? It was JUST a dream." 

Stephanie threw her stuff together, deciding that she would get more work done at home, where she was positive that Jericho wouldn't come barging in with some insult or another. She became so disoriented around him; there was no way she could even come up with a good insult to fire back at him; she would just stand there like an idiot, and Stephanie McMahon was NOT an idiot. 

Once Stephanie had gotted home, she opened up her briefcase and pulled out the newest contracts as well as her cell-phone, which she would definitely need at some point in time. She chiseled away at it for hours, using dozens of minutes of cell-phone time in the process. She would use her real phone, except she didn't want anyone to know the number, and everyone in the company had caller-id. 

After hours and hours, Stephanie's head began to droop. She was so tired... She could barely keep her eyes open, but she kept on going. Work comes before sleep when you're a McMahon. Eventually, it became too much, and she practically passed out on top of her work.   
  
  


_ He was standing there, so close, yet so far. HIs body outline was blurry, but she knew who it was. Jericho. She tried to reach out to him, but she couldn't. She couldn't move. She looked down and her legs were disappearing.___

_ "Just reach out for me, Stephanie," Chris encouraged. "Forget about everything elose, just come to me."___

_ Stephanie tried again, but once again, she couldn't move, and the entire lower half of her body had turned to dust.___

_ "Trust me, Steph, just trust me, before it's too late..."_   
__   
__ __

Stephanie awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes and regained some sense of composure. She shivered and stood up. 

"What the hell was that." It was more a statement than a question. "Man, maybe I just shouldn't go to sleep. I have to stoop dreaming of that sexy man...I mean, WHAT!? I have got to stop dreaming of that...pig!" 

Stephanie was furious at herself for thinking of Jericho in a sexual way. "It's my hormones talking. Sure he decent-looking, but he's still a pig-headed, arrogant, cocky asshole and I hate him!" 

Announcing her hate for Jericho out loud, even if she was alone, made Stephanie feel a lot better. After grabbing a shourt snack, Stephanie continued her work. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was only around 5:30. 

"I mihgt actually finish this in time to drop this off," she told herself heppily. "Then I can get some sleep. Maybe I'll take some medicine to knock me out so I won't have any dreams, or if I do, I won't remember them." 

At 6:45 on the nose, she finished up her current task and got into her car to drop it off at the arena in time for the show in two days. 

Praying that she wouldn't run into Jericho, she entered the arena. She said her polite hellos to everyone she ran into. After she had dropped off the contracts, she headed back out to her car. Just as she thought she was home free... 

"Hey princess, what's up?" Jericho asked her with a smirk. "Fuck anyone good lately?" 

"Shut the hell up Jericho," Stephanie said without even turning around to face him. She didn't have to, and if she did, she would see his face, and then she would lose everything even resembling composure. She just continued to walk to her car. 

"God damn it Stephanie, I hope you get into a car wreck." 

"In that case, I'll see you in hell." 

"With that, she got into her car and slammed the door, fighting the urge to ram Jericho where he stood. 

Chris watched her drive off for a long time, until Christian came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder, bringing him back to Earth. Together, the two left the arena. 

Stephanie wasn't sure she had ever been this pissed off. The strange thing was, she wasn't angry with Chris as much as she was angry with herself. She couldn't believe how jumpy she had been acting, and that she was letting one...well two stupid dreams control her. 

She was so upset she stopped paying attention to the road. She accidentally ran a red light and slammed into the car in front of her. 

"Shit," she thought, her last coherent thought before passing our, glass shattering and cutting into her flesh. Her car came to a stop on its own, but Stephanie was still unconcious. Someone nearby called 911, and all everybody could do was wait. 


	4. Chapter Four

The arena wasn't in total chaos, but it was in a state of slight pandemonium without Stephanie moving things along with her special leadership qualities. Most people had heard about her accident and had gone and visited her in the hospital, or at least sent their regards. She was doing fine; she had passed out from shock and had stayed unconscious as a result of blood loss, but she was awake now, and she couldn't wait to get back to work. She would have been at the arena at that very second, but the doctors just wouldn't have it. 

Some superstars, however, were not aware of where Stephanie was, and were confused as to why everyone seemed so stressed. 

"What the hell is going on here?" Chris Jericho asked his tag-team partner Christian. "Everyone's going crazy; it's like someone died or something." 

"Well, someone almost did die," Christian informed him. 

"What?" 

"Yeah, you didn't hear? Stephanie McMahon got herself into a car crash. 

"What?" Chris whispered inaudibly. He couldn't believe it. She was in a car crash? When? How? Why? 

"Hey, are you okay?" Christian asked his friend. 

~*~ 

_"Hey princess, what's up? Fucked anyone good lately?"_

_"Shut the hell up Jericho."_

_"I hope you get into a car wreck."_

_"In that case I'll see you in hell." _

~*~ 

"YO! CHRIS! You there?" 

"Huh?" 

"Are you okay? You were like, way out there, man." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just…um…never mind. I'm fine." 

Christian wasn't convinced, but he let it go. 

"So, is she okay?" 

"Who?" 

"Stephanie." 

"Yeah, she's fine, she'll be back in a couple days. Why do you suddenly care about her?" 

"Huh, oh, I don't, I was just curious. I do want her to come back though," he trailed off. "I mean, you know, so things can calm down." 

"Right." 

"Right." 

The two walked in silence for another minute. 

"What hospital is she staying at?" 

"The one off Trenholm Road." 

"Oh." 

Christian smirked. "Want me to cover for you?" 

"Would you?" 

"Just go." 

Chris silently thanked his friend as he jetted out of the arena. He was too concerned to be embarrassed with the fact that Christian seemed to know that Chris didn't really hate Stephanie and that he wanted to visit her. Christian was a good friend. Chris was a bit worried about how Christian could cover for him, but he decided that he should put more faith in his friend. 

Without pushing the speed limit too much, Chris drove as fast as he could to the hospital. Fortunately, he knew exactly where it was, as he had driven by it the night before. When he found a parking spot, he quickly got out of the car and slammed it shut, barely taking the time to lock it. 

"Stephanie McMahon, where is she?" he asked once he had gotten in. 

The lady he had asked just sort of gave him a funny look, and she didn't say anything at first. 

"Stephanie McMahon, where is she?" he repeated more slowly yet urgently. 

Finally, the lady checked her records and pointed Chris in the right direction. He started to take off at a run, but decided against it and settled for walking quickly. Right before he got to her door, he paused. What if someone like her father was in there? Or worse, what if another one of the wrestlers was in there? He would never live it down. 

After several minutes and several strange looks from the doctors passing by, he decided that seeing Stephanie, and calming his conscience, was worth the risk. He slowly pushed open the door. It was almost like an anticlimax. There was nobody in there but Stephanie, and she was sleeping. There weren't even any doctors. 

He walked over to her bed and leaned over her. She was resting peacefully, her chest rising and falling with every breath of air. He wanted to wake her up, but he decided she might freak out if she opened her eyes and he was that close. He stepped away from the bed. 

"Steph," he said, trying to wake her. She didn't even move. "Steph," he repeated more loudly. "Stephanie." 

Stephanie shifted in her bed and opened her eyes. 

"Yeah? What is it? Chris? What the hell are you doing here?" 

"I…I came to visit you…" 

"Why the hell would you do a stupid thing like that? And shouldn't you be working today?" 

"I got Christian to cover for me…" 

"Oh that makes me feel so much better!" 

"Geez, I come here to visit you and tell you how sorry I am, and you yell at me! See if I'm ever nice to you again." 

"I don't want or need you to be nice to me JERICHO. I haven't needed your sympathy before and I sure as hell don't need it now." 

"I'm not trying to offer you sympathy--" 

"Well then what the hell do you want? I haven't forgotten what you said, you know. You wanted me to get into a car wreck! Well, guess what!? You got your wish! Happy?" 

"Happy? What? No, I'm not HAPPY! How could I be happy. When I heard that you had crashed, I thought that the last thing I would ever say to you would be 'go get in a car wreck'. Do you know how that made me feel?" 

"Jericho, you're only here to sooth your conscience. Clearly you can see that I'm okay so I suggest that you leave." 

"That is NOT the only reason I came here." 

"Well, then what's the other reason?" 

"I…" Chris started. He didn't really want to tell her, he was so unsure of himself. 

"I'm waiting," Stephanie remarked. 

"I…" 

"See? You can't even come up with some lie to cover for you. Honestly! You haven't ever given a damn about me before this, and now that I've had a near-death experience, you suddenly care? We aren't exactly pals, Jericho." 

"We've been friends before. When we were business partners." 

"Exactly! BUISNESS partners. We were using each other for our own good. Look, you've seen me, you've offered your condolences, now just get the hell out!" 

Chris was about to protest but he could see that she was clearly mad, and he didn't want to push it. 

"Fine. When are you getting out?" 

"Day after tomorrow." 

"Okay then," Chris said as he began to exit. "See you tomorrow." 

"I said the day AFTER tomorrow, idiot." 

"I know," he finished as he closed her door. 

"CHRIS! Chris, get back here you moron, what do you mean you'll see me tomorrow. Chris? CHRIS! Argh, I hate that man! 


	5. Chapter Five

Chris was not having a good day. No, he hadn't gotten in trouble for not showing up; this was worse. Christian's idea of covering for him was to make the argument that because Chris wasn't competing that night, he would participate in a handicap match. It was going to be Chris Jericho versus The Dudley Boys. Now, that was bad in itself, but that wasn't all. In order to make it interesting, there had been a...special stipulation. It was a table match. A table match! Against the freakin' Dudley boys! Chris decided that he would never ask Christian to help him get out of something ever again.

He couldn't believe that he was going to go through all that just because he went to visit Stephanie. And for what? To be insulted! She yelled at him and told him to get the hell out!

However, he decided to keep his promise to little miss princess and go visit her later that evening. He was going to give her a piece of his mind! Well, maybe.

~*~

That day, Stephanie woke up and prayed that Chris was joking when he said he'd come by. Her father was coming as well, and the last thing she needed was a confrontation in her room in the hospital.

Fortunately, when Vince came by to check up on his daughter, Chris was nowhere to be found. After he left, Stephanie decided that she could relax, as the danger had passed. She slowly fell asleep, forgetting all her worries.

_She was sitting in an open field of grass, daises decorating the landscape. She was so incredibly happy, happier than she'd ever been, but at the same time, it seemed like she had always been this happy._

_ She looked down and examined her outfit. It was an innocent white sundress, complimenting the landscape._

_ All of a sudden, she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist. She turned and faced her lover, Chris. He walked around her and sat down beside her. He whispered sweet things into her ear, and gently kissed her neck._

_ Then, in an instant, he was gone. She was in blackness, shadow. Fires erupted around her feet, and she began to panic. Chris then reappeared, but he was far away. The fires began to spread as the shadows began encompassing her. _

_ Chris didn't say anything, just looked at her sadly. He was her way out. She had to trust him. She started toward him, but she couldn't bring herself to go to him. She was too scared, too hesitant. She didn't trust him, and she had to trust him. As soon as the darkness recognized her hesitation, Chris was encompassed by black flames and he disappeared._

_ Stephanie cried out, pain flowing through her body. He was gone, he couldn't be gone. She started screaming blindly, hoping someone would help her._

She awoke to a cold liquid spattering all over her face. She gasped and sat up, furiously wiping her face with her sleeve.

"What the...Jericho!? What the hell was that for?!"

"Well I had to wake you up somehow. I thought you were dead! Well, actually, no, I didn't think you were dead. You were tossing and turning. You looked like you were having a nightmare or something."

"Well, I was, so what? Look at me! I'm all wet!"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"Well you should be!"

" I am! Chill out, will you?"

"I will not chill out! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, this time I warned you. My showing up shouldn't come as a surprise, princess. I just came to check up on my favorite two-dollar ho."

"You know, you are so lucky you didn't run into my daddy when he was here."

"Well I guess I am."

"Are you leaving yet?"

"Nope. I got into some serious shit for coming to see you yesterday, and all you did was yell at me. I'm going to stay here and torture you until I decide that it was worth coming to visit."

"I thought you said that Christian covered you."

"Yeah, he did, if you count putting me in a table match against the Dudleys covering for me."

"A tag team match?"

"I wish. It's a handicap match."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, and all to visit you, too."

"Serves you right."

"I guess."

Chris didn't say anything else and just sat down on one of the chairs in the room. Stephanie eyed him suspiciously, but didn't say anything, hoping that if she ignored him he would go away.

Stephanie continued her strategy until she was about to go insane. "Are you just going to sit there all day?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Someone might see you here."

"I don't care," Chris said almost a bit too hastily.

Stephanie smirked. "Yes you do."

Chris could think of no reply to this, so he simply continued sitting.

"Don't you have to be somewhere?"

"In an hour."

"Ugh, you're going to annoy me for a whole hour?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it annoying you, but if you put it that way..."

"I do put it that way."

"Then yes, I will be annoying you for an hour. But I'm not sure how sitting here, enjoying your company qualifies as annoying you."

"It just does."

"Sorry, princess. You know, I actually had to get back to the arena early to get changed..."

"Good!"

"But since you've annoyed me so much I think I'll just change here."

"Well at least you won't be in the room," Stephanie said pointedly.

When she got no response from Chris, she grew slightly worried. He wouldn't change in the room, would he? She glanced at him as he pulled stuff out of his bag. Oh Lord, he would.

She groaned and slammed her head against her pillow. She just wouldn't look... But at the same time, she really, really wanted to. She sated her mind by telling herself that all she wanted to do was see if he really looked like what he looked like in her dream, but deep down, she knew that wasn't true.

"Okay, just one look," she told herself.

She quickly opened her eyes, but Chris was nowhere to be found.

"He must have left," she said with a sigh of relief.

"BOO!"

Stephanie let out an ear-piercing shriek. "Christ, Jericho, I'm having my heart monitored, you know, you're gonna make the doctors worried."

"Sorry, it was just too easy: I knew you would close your eyes."

"So you're not changing?"

"Oh yes I am"

"Great," she said sarcastically.

"Why Stephanie, I almost feel insulted."

"Good."

"Whatever."

Chris then proceeded to actually change into his ring attire, as he had to be back at the arena in around fifteen minutes. Stephanie kept her eyes open, but she cast them places other than his smooth, muscular, incredibly sexy body. Argh! Curse those stupid dreams, especially that first one. With his arms wrapped around her and his body pressed up against hers... God, he had a nice body.

All of sudden a nurse burst into the room as Jericho had stepped into his pants.

"Are you alright?" she asked Stephanie. "Your heartbeat shot up very suddenly."

"Umm, ummm..."

"Shall I call a doctor?"

"No, um, I don't know what happened, but I'm fine now. I'm sorry I worried you."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Yes, I'm sure. Thank-you."

"Okay," the nurse replied. "Oh, and you," she said, looking at Chris. "You might want to put your shirt on. We have a dress-code here for visitors."

"Right, I was just going to do that," he replied.

She nodded at him and exited the room. Stephanie was blushing furiously. Why did she have to think about that dumb dream? Especially when he was changing clothes. He wouldn't think... 

"Yes, yes he would," she decided, glancing at the arrogant smirk plastered across his face.

"I'll see ya 'round, Steph," he said with a knowing smile.

Oh God...


	6. Chapter Six

When Stephanie was finally let out of the hospital, she was quite eager to get back to work, and that's an understatement. She desperately wanted to plunge into her work, but she decided not to ignore the doctors' warning to take it easy. And for Stephanie McMahon to take it easy? Well, that wasn't an easy feat.

Stephanie decided that, for now, she would leave the arena by the show's end, and when there wasn't a show, by 10:00. She agreed, after much debate with her father, not to take any work with her to her hotel room.

Stephanie was lounging on her hotel room bed, wondering what to do with herself. She had never really had any free time before. This was weird. Too weird. She finally rolled over and went to sleep, this time, for once, a dreamless sleep.

Stephanie awoke to the telephone ringing. She groggily picked it up.

"This is your wake-up call. This is your wake-up call. This is your wa--"

Stephanie slammed down the phone. She pulled herself off of her bed and got ready for the day ahead. (A/N: That rhymed! Heh, sorry) When she was ready she called a cab to drive her to the arena.

When she got there, she immediately bolted for her office. There was just too much stuff to be done. She sat at her desk and pulled out a huge stack of forms, and she attacked them like a hungry dog attacks a bone.

"Whoa, Steph, take it easy," said Kurt when he came into her office. "Aren't you supposed to be relaxing?"

"Kurt, for me, this is relaxing."

"Okay. I'm just worried about you. You're working to hard."

"I am not working to hard. Now did you want something?"

"Just came to see how you were doing. Take it easy, okay?"

"OKAY!"

Kurt backed out of the office, but he didn't close the door. Normally Stephanie would yell after him to shut it, but she was already wrapped up in her work again.

Chris was just passing by Stephanie's office to go talk to Christian, but when he noticed Stephanie's door open, and Stephanie completely oblivious to the world around her, well, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

He crept into the room and positioned himself right behind her. He thought about tapping her on the shoulder, but then he noticed that she was in one of those rolly-chairs. Too easy. He positioned his hand and yanked the chair right out from under her.

She let out a high-pitched sort of squeak right before she hit the ground. She was back up in a minute.

"CHRIS JERICHO, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME! AND QUIT SNEAKING UP ON ME LIKE THAT! AND HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF LOCKING DOORS?"

While she was saying this, she was slowly backing him into a corner. Chris was beginning to regret what he had done. Little miss princess could be quite intimidating when she wanted to.

"WELL!!!???!??!!?"

"Umm...sorry?"

"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!"

"Yeah, just about."

Stephanie didn't even have a reply to this, but she decided to back down. She was getting way too worked up. She backed up slowly, unfortunately forgetting that there was still a chair on the ground. Her heel collided with the chair, and she tripped over it and started falling.

Chris was there in an instant, and he caught her before she fell. They both sort of stood there for a while, until Stephanie regained some sense.

"Thanks," she said, offering Chris a genuine smile for one of the first times in her life.

"Yeah, whatever bitch," he said with a snarl and he quickly exited her office.

When Chris was gone, Stephanie slumped down to the floor, near tears. What had just happened?

Sorry so short, but at least now I know where this think is going. :-D Please review, I like to know what you people are thinking. It will probably be a couple weeks until I update this, because I'm working on a new story, but I always finish all of my stories. Ta-ta people!


	7. Chapter Seven

Okay, I finally got out the next chapter. Hope it was worth the wait! I decided to put it out now because I'm leaving for spring break. I'm going on a cruise!!! Yay!! This chapter is pretty long... BTW, I'm marking POV and scene changes with "~*~". I still don't own anything. *sob* Oh well, please don't sue. Oh, and please review!!!

Stephanie remained on the floor, breathing heavily, in and out. What had she done? She was so confused... But she knew exactly what she had done. She had fallen for Jericho.

"I am such a fool..."

~*~

"So, am I gonna see you later tonight?" Chris asked his friend and tag-team partner Christian, zipping up his bag.

"Nah, I don't think so. I'm gonna turn in early tonight," Christian replied.

"That's cool, I'll see you tomorrow," Chris said before clapping Christian on the shoulder and exiting the door.

"See ya."

Chris tossed his junk into his car and drove back to the hotel. Once he got there, he decided that he really, really just wanted to get drunk. Well, that was easy enough.

Fortunately, the bar that Chris went to was only a couple blocks from the hotel, so he could get back in one piece. Once there, he concentrated on nothing more than getting absolutely wasted.

With every sip he took, the image of Stephanie that was burning in his mind grew less and less. But then, all of a sudden, as he turned his head to a corner, he saw her. He blinked a couple of times before realizing that what he saw was not his imagination. She was really there.

~*~

Stephanie was an absolute mess. She had come to this place to get away from everything. To get away from Chris, but there he was. She backed into a corner and hoped the shadows concealed her. She thought she had succeeded, too, until she saw him staring straight at her.

She saw him get up off of his seat at the bar and walk toward her. He sat down next to her.

"Steph, I'm sorry," he began, his words slurred from the alcohol. She slid away from him and turned to leave.

"Don't be like that, I didn't mean it…"

"Go away."

"You know I'm sorry." He paused and walked toward her, and he began to gently stroke her hair. "Come on Stephi, you want this, you want us."

She shuddered. She knew she did, but they were both drunk, it wasn't right, and she wasn't about to admit that she wanted him.

He closed the space between them as he kissed her. She tried to pull away, but he held her to him with all of his strength. Eventually she managed to wrench herself away and she slapped him and ran out of the bar.

She started running down the street, but Chris quickly caught up to her. He forced his arms around her waist from behind her. She tried to get away, but he held her tight as she thrashed around in his arms like a rag doll.

She eventually gave up and she tripped and fell to the ground. Chris went down with her, his arms still around her waist. She started to cry, and he pulled her back up.

"Don't cry, Steph, I'm sorry I was so rough, but I know you want this."

She tried to protest, tried to tell him that he was wrong, that she didn't want this, but she didn't have the energy to speak, and it would have been all lies, anyway.

"Steph…"

He forced himself on her again, and again she tried to pull away. He backed her into the wall of a store by the sidewalk and wouldn't let her escape. As soon as she accepted the kiss, he loosened his grip.

Stephanie was in so much pain. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't breathe. She hated this so much. But at the same time, it was what she had wanted…right?

Without a word, Chris pulled away from her and walked off. Stephanie slumped to the ground, still crying. Eventually she pulled herself together enough to walk back to her hotel, where she couldn't go to sleep because she was crying so hard.

~*~

When Stephanie got to the arena the next day, the very first person she ran into was Chris. Of course. All the forces of nature were obviously conspiring against her. She took a deep breath and acknowledged the fact that they needed to talk, and she wasn't a McMahon. She wasn't afraid to talk to anybody.

She stepped toward him and pulled him away from his conversation.

"Chris, we need to talk," she said in a slow, hesitant voice.

"What's to talk about, ho? I wanted to make out with a cheap slut, you were there, end of story."

"What?"

"Don't look so surprised. Oh, and sorry if I hurt you or anything. See ya 'round. Bitch."

He walked away, leaving Stephanie standing in shock. She definitely should have seen that coming. He was drunk, she was drunk, it was all a mistake. A mistake.

She walked into her office and locked the door. She didn't even think about the fact that she was still supposed to be taking it easy. She distracted herself the only way she knew how. She threw herself into her work. She continued without even stopping to eat anything. She worked for over ten hours, until she glanced at the clock and decided to finish up the rest of her work at her hotel room.

She was very thankful that she hadn't been disturbed all day, and she didn't want to jinx it, so she got out of there with her folders and files as quickly as she could.

She worked all night long, once again not stopping for any food whatsoever. She threw her stuff into her car and went back to the arena. There was a show tomorrow night, and she had lots of things to do to prepare for it.

She locked herself in her office again and continued her ritualistic work. She heard a knock on her door. She considered ignoring whomever it was, and she decided to do just that.

Once again, there was a knock on her door, and she could see the doorknob twist to no avail, seeing as her door was locked.

"Steph?"

Stephanie sighed. She recognized that voice. She decided to answer it. She could use a friendly face.

She opened the door. "Hey Kurt," she said, not even needing to look at him to know who it was.

"Hey Steph, I was just stopping by to, whoa…"

"What?"

"Uhh…nothing."

"No seriously, what?'

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but…you look awful."

Stephanie thought about this statement for a while, until she finally realized that she had neither showered nor eaten for a good two whole days.

"You're probably right." Kurt just looked at her, inviting her to say more. "I've just been feeling kind of lousy lately; I'm kind of sick right now."

"Oh. Well, take it easy. I just came by to drop these off," he said, gesturing toward a set of papers in his hands. "Vince said to get them done by tomorrow, but if you're not feeling well, I'll just tell him that you can't."

"No, don't do that, I'll be fine. Tell him it's no problem."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Thanks for dropping them off."

"Sure," he said. "Take it easy."

"I will," she said.

When Kurt left, Stephanie started on the scripting of one of tomorrow night's matches. Halfway through, she stopped. She was exhausted. She shook her head and continued. When she got like this, she had to make sure everything would be perfect. She scripted again and again and again. She dropped them off at her dad's office, knowing that he would need them so that he could bring them to his board meeting. He wasn't there, and she was rather thankful for that. She didn't need him interrogating her on why she looked so…bad.

She pondered what else she could do, until she remembered that they had recruited a new superstar who was to join in a few weeks. It wouldn't hurt to get a jumpstart on his contract, right?

She grabbed a bunch of legal papers and she went back to her hotel room, where she once again worked the night away. She had now gone three whole days without food or rest. When she arrived at her office, she remembered that she had a meeting in half an hour. She decided that she might as well get more done, she was just so tired…

As she steadily worked the time away, she was overcome by an incredible fatigue, and she could feel herself slowly drift off…

~*~

Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty.

"Where is she?" Vince growled.

"I don't know, sir," replied one of his associates.

"I'll go find her."

Vince was not in a good mood. He had just found out that his stock advisor may have given him some illegal tips, and the plans for the show were not going as planned.

"Stephanie?" he called out, banging on her office door.

He pulled it open to be met with the sight of his daughter passed out over her desk. "Stephanie!?"

He ran over to her and shook her shoulder.

"Wake up, sweetie. WAKE UP!"

She wasn't waking up.

"I need help!" Vince yelled at whoever was there to listen. "Wake up…"


	8. Chapter Eight

Oh my god, I know it's been like forever since I last updated, and I am soooo sorry. I completely lost my inspiration for this story for a while, there. Anyway, you all should know that even if I don't update in forever, I will ALWAYS finish. And I know that this chapter is really short, and I'm sorry!!!! I figured that actually getting something down, no matter how short, would start the story up again. So, enjoy the chapter, at least, the little of it that there is.... *grumbles*   
  
  


Chapter Eight 

Vince McMahon rode in the ambulance with his only daughter to the hospital. The medical staff was reluctant to allow him to come along, but after seeing the look in his eyes, they immediately submitted to his will. Her pulse was abnormally low, and she was having some trouble breathing. Once the roaring ambulance reached the hospital, Stephanie was quickly taken to the emergency room. 

After the situation was assessed, she was immediately admitted into the intensive care unit. Vince could barely look at his daughter. Sure, he had seen plenty of career threatening injuries before, but it was usually a broken bone. The fact that it was his daughter in the room, combined with the fact that she was hooked up to more machines he could count, really intensified the situation. 

Just then, a doctor entered the room. 

"You'll have to leave now, sir. It's after 9:00." 

"What do you mean I have to leave? I'm her father, dammit!" 

"The rules here are very strict. Intensive care patients aren't even supposed to have visitors at any hour of the day, but we wavered the rule due to the fact that you are family. However, it's after nine, and you have to leave now." 

"That's bullshit!" 

"Sir..." 

"What's wrong with her!?" 

"Well...." 

"I said what's wrong with her!" 

"We're not exactly sure yet. We just know that she's in bad shape, and if you don't leave right now, we may not have time to figure out exactly what's wrong." 

"Does it have anything to do with the car wreck she was in earlier?" 

"We _don't know_, sir, and you need to leave now." 

Vince said nothing, simply walked out the door, his emotions ready to explode all over the place, as if they hadn't already. Why was this happening? 

~*~ 

Meanwhile, Chris, sore from the beating he had suffered at the hand of the Dudleys, was sleeping not so peacefully in bed. He was not only physically beaten, but he was plagued by strange nightmares.   
  


_All Chris knew was that he was falling, and he was falling fast, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know where to. He found himself tensing as he fell faster and faster. At once, he knew that he had reached his destination.___

_ There was nothing there, but all of a sudden, he felt every bad memory slowly float back to him. It was painful, everything was painful. It was as if invisible walls were crushing him from all sides. Chris found himself curling into a little ball, as if to protect himself from all the physical and mental pain he was feeling.___

_ All at once, he realized. "I'm in hell," he thought. But he was...cold. Cold. That couldn't be, what was happening.___

_ The scene abruptly changed and he saw a vision of Vince McMahon. Chris was floating in the air, watching the scene unfold in front of him. Vince was...crying. Crying. Chris shuddered, what was, why was... what the hell was going on?___

_ Someone enclosed in shadows walked into the scene. An angel. An angel of death.___

_ "She's dead," the voice proclaimed.___

_ "No," cried Vince and Chris at the same time.___

_ The other two looked up at Chris.___

_ "No," he said, more determined this time. "She's not dead. She wouldn't die."___

_ Laughter echoed through the air, bouncing off of invisible walls and making its way back to Chris's ears.___

_ "She's dead. There's nothing you can do about it. She's gone."_   
__   
__   
__   
  
  


This is NOT the end. I just want to clarify that, because when I showed this chapter to one of my friends to see what she thought, she thought the story was over. Well, I would say review, but this chapter was so pathetically short I'm not sure it deserves it, but I would appreciate all feedback, anyway. The next chapter should be up soon, now that I've gotten going again. Ta-ta for now! 


	9. Chapter Nine

Guess what? I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally gave inspiration a kick in the behind. I just decided that I HAD to finish this, and I did! Yay! Thanks to everybody that stuck with this. Anyway, please leave a review when you're done, it will be very much appreciated. Later!

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The next day, everything was all sorted out. Vince was finally allowed into the room, and he finally got the answers that he desired about his daughter's condition. Upon discovering that there wasn't really anything wrong, they immediately moved Stephanie out of intensive care, but they put her in a room to keep an eye on for a while.

One person, however, had no idea what was happening, no idea that Stephanie was awake, safe, and healthy. One person was being plagued by nightmares. Nightmares that seemed all too real.

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Chris bolted awake as his nightmare finally reached its conclusion. He was panting, his mind reeling over the events of his dream. And yet he knew it wasn't just a dream; it had to be more than that. It always was with Stephanie. He didn't even have to think before he had gotten dressed and was headed out the door.

Chris stood in front of Stephanie's door in the hospital, hand paused over the door. He wasn't so sure he wanted to go in anymore. Maybe she was dead; maybe his dream was real. How else could he have known exactly what room she was in without asking? Maybe it wasn't really her room; maybe it was just a stupid feeling.

That fantasy was quickly shattered as Vince McMahon exited the room. He screeched to a halt when he saw Chris standing there, still frozen.

"Do you want something?"

No answer.

"This is mostly your fault, you know."

No answer.

"You can see her if you want. She's fine; she was just stressed. And starved. And dehydrated. And it's your fault."

A turn of the head, facing the other way.

"You should see her."

With that mysterious statement, Vince took off. Strange, yes, but stranger things have happened.

"Thank-you," Chris whispered to the empty space that had just recently been occupied by Vince.

He was right; it was her room. But she wasn't dead. Thank God. But then what about the dream? What was really going on? Only one way to find out. With a deep breath, Chris resigned himself and entered the room.

Stephanie's eyes darted over to Chris. While they started out with eagerness, they quickly repealed into icy coldness that sent chills to Chris's very core. When had Stephanie turned so hard? So cold? What had he done?

"What do you want?" she asked him, her voice completely void of any and all form of emotion.

Chris had no idea what to say. He didn't even know what he wanted to say. He just wanted to say something. Anything. He finally went with the obvious.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Chris sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere. Clearly she was still angry with him. Although, Chris had to admit, she had every right to be mad. But that wasn't what was bothering him. What was bothering him was that she didn't actually seem angry. She seemed... empty. It was scary. Where had the Stephanie that some part of him had once, still did, love?

"I'm sorry," he managed to choke out, struggling to contain tears that were suddenly threatening his pride.

"For what?"

"For doing this. To you. I'm just... so sorry."

She laughed, a high bitter laugh that was full of resentment, cynicism, and cruelty. Why was Stephanie being this way? Surely this was the real dream. This just couldn't be.

"Don't give yourself the credit," she said. "You mean nothing."

"But..."

"Go. I don't ever want to think about you again. Don't ever bother me again."

"Stephanie..."

"Go."

"Steph..."

"Fine. I'll say this once, but we will never speak of it again. I love you Chris Jericho. I love you with all of my being. I hurt so much right now. I just hurt. Down to my bones. Every inch of my body, my heart, my soul. Pain. All because I love you, and you ridiculed that love. Never, ever come near me again. I'm going to do us both a favor. I'm going to disappear. I need the vacation anyway. I will disappear from your life, so I don't have to depend on you to disappear from mine. I am dead to you Chris, dead. And that's all I have to say about it."

The cold steel that had been Stephanie's manner just moments earlier had melted away into a trembling, crying, hurting little girl. It affected Chris more than any harsh words ever could. He took a step toward her, to say something, to comfort her, anything, but she instantly and almost instinctually coiled back. She was dead.

A tear slid down his cheek. He ignored the salty wetness, and he turned to leave. If she wanted him gone, fine. He would be gone. He froze as he reached the doorway.

"I love you too."

With that, he was gone. He didn't stay to see her reaction. Didn't want to. He couldn't bear to watch her suffer, especially knowing that it was his fault. He turned around the corner, nearly crashing with Kurt Angle as he did. He hurried past him, not eager for a conversation with anybody, let alone Kurt, at the moment.

Once he was past, he turned to watch Kurt enter the room. Stephanie positively lit up at his entrance, and Kurt closed the door.

Good. Maybe she was dead to him, but she wasn't dead to the world. She would be okay. Maybe he wouldn't, but she would. And that was all that mattered.

The End!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
